The Fox And The Fireflies
by PwnMaster1999
Summary: After the loss of Tess, Joel and Ellie continue to travel toward the Fireflies. While searching for Bill, they come across a wandering survivor separated from almost all human contact. Experimented on by the military , Felix isn't exactly trustworthy of adults. But the discovery of Ellie, a teen his age (a girl no less), may just break through his emotional wall and open his heart.
1. Bombs And Clickers

Joel examined the barrier from a short distance, Ellie jogging behind him to keep up.

"Hmm." He sighed, "Yeah. That's Bill's handy work."

Ellie followed up behind him, standing outside of the Old Goodies store.

"Anybody else live in this town?" She asked, ever curious of the world.

" 'Far as I know, it's just him." Joel finished, before he started slowly jogging toward the end of an alley, where a thin line of wire was barely visible.

A clicker stumbled toward them, slightly startling Ellie, not noticing the trap it was about to walk into.

_**BOOM**_

The clicker set off a bomb trap, throwing it into the wall with enough force to kill it.

"Jesus!" Panted Joel, not expecting such a trap.

"Whoa, Nelly. Wha-? What the hell was that?" Came Ellie's surprised response, the explosion having shaken her a little.

"That..." Came Joel's voice, a grim tone clearly audible, "...would be one of Bill's traps."


	2. Rise Of The Fox

Unknown POV:

I watched him disarm the bombs and traps in silence, covering my ears to muffle the sound. They hadn't always been really sensitive, in fact I hate to say this, but... It's because of the military that I'm still alive.

The man, Joel I think, picked up a bow and plucked a few arrows from a corpse of an infected. I stayed atop the roofs, silently stalking him, wary of his every move.

Here, let me tell you something about why I don't trust this guy.

You see, I was born in an abandoned town on the outside. My mother, Rayne, gave birth to me fourteen years ago, on October 31st. How do I know this? Because Aunt May told me.

She's not my real Aunt, more of a Godmother. But when my mother died two days after I was born, May raised me on her own, barely travelled anymore. Until we were separated, that is.

I had just turned ten, and we were a fair-sized group. Me and May, twin brothers Grey and Davis, an older man Ray and his daughter Lilly. And last but not least, Brooke.

Brooke was seventeen, and my best friend. Hell, my only friend. The twins were entering their thirties and weren't interested in me, Lilly was in her forties and too busy with her Dad. May would go looting and enforce the area we stayed in. Me and Brooke were the youngest there.

We just went to the water bucket when the others came barrelling at us with our stuff and told us to run. Turns out that some of the folks from the quarantines were checking out the area and had spotted our group. We grabbed our things and ran for the hills. That's when the infected came.

The twins had been taken out by the infected and Lilly and Ray were shot down. May and Brooke had fallen down a crack in the Earth and screamed for me to run when the soldier grabbed me and knocked me out.

All I remember after that was waking up in a research lab. At the time I didn't know where I was or what was going on, and all I knew was something had happened to me because I was strapped down to the table.

An orderly came in with some food and water, with orders to inform me of my recent... _changes_.

His name was Bobby, and he told me that the research base had been tasked with finding new ways to adapt for survival. They had observed animals like dogs and found out that their eyesight, hearing and general reflexes were miles better than what we had, hence why more animals were surviving. He also said that the nameplate on the door said "Experiment 009.X"

He handed me a mirror, and what I saw made me go wide-eyed.

First off, my ears were missing. Now I know what your thinking. _If his ears are gone, how can he hear?_

Well, my ears were gone, and my hair hung over the patches of skin. But sitting atop my head was a pair of fuzzy reddish-orange animal ears.

While I sat checking out my new look, Bobby explained that the scientists had removed my ears and reconnected the nerves and veins to a pair of fox ears and injected me with a large amount of fox DNA.

When I asked him why a fox and why me, he told me that the only available specimen they had was a fox, and that they needed as young a person as possible for the operation to go successfully.

While I processed this information, he informed me of my other changes.

_"Now, son, you'll find your eyesight has improved greatly, along with your hearing and sense of smell. Also, your nails grew longer and hardened-"_

_"Like claws?" _

_Bobby nodded. _

_"Yeah. Like claws."_

A few days later, Bobby didn't come to visit me. I overheard a few guards chatting about how one of the orderlies had blabbed too much to Experiment 009.X and had been executed. As you can guess, my mood was sullen all the while. On that day I learned to never get close to adults again. Especially since the soldiers and scientists had begun performing tests on me.

A week went by with no change, when suddenly I heard howls and crashes. The infected had broken in and were battling the rest of the facility.

I took my chances and bolted out of the research base after stealing some clothes, dodging infected and bullets, fleeing from the yells.

"Don't let 009.X escape!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

It's been four years since that day. Four years with no word from Aunt May or Brooke. Four years away from any human contact.

I cursed mentally as I accidentally knocked some rubble off the roof in the midst of my flashback.

I saw the man Joel spin round, pulling out a brick.

He didn't go fast enough however, as I pounced on him and raised my clawed hand to deliver the final blow.

Just as I bought my hand down, I froze as I heard a yell.

A yell that would save me from the nothing I'd become.

"Joel!"


	3. Friggin' Claws

Joel POV:

I heard something fall from the low roof opposite me and pulled out a brick from the side of my backpack. Just as I spun round, a figure in a sleeveless green hoodie, khaki pants and sneakers jumped me and pinned me to the roof of the trailer I was standing on.

"Gah!"

This wasn't an infected, they aren't stealthy or agile enough to jump you from a roof, especially with a two-meter gap between.

All I could make out of this figure was that it was male, about 5"7 with blue eyes. I couldn't get an exact hair colour, because what I could see hung down by his eyes in short spikes, but I'm guessing he's got medium to dark brown hair.

The guy raised a hand to strike, but I saw pointed nails poised at my throat.

Shit.

I gritted my teeth and prepared for the hit when I heard her.

"Joel!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Ellie POV:

Jesus, Joel's pal is paranoid. I haven't seen so many traps in my life!

I sighed as I rummaged through drawers, pulling out small things like rags and binding to give to Joel so he could keep making more weapons and supplies to keep us going. Joel told me to go make myself useful while he put up the ladder so we could get across to Bill's.

So here I am, rooting through old crap with nothing to defend myself. I finished clearing the area when I heard something fall and a thud.

"Gah!"

"Joel...?" I slowly called, hearing no answer. I started to panic a little, and ran to the doorway.

I saw Joel on the roof of the trailer, a figure pinning him down. The guy had a hand up, ready to stab Joel with-

Wait... Oh shit.

Claws. He has friggin' _claws._

I ran toward the trailer, almost falling over some rubble.

Seeing the guy thrust his hand forward, I did the only thing I could do. Yell.

"Joel!"


	4. The Beast Within

Unknown POV:

"Joel!"

I froze at the sound of another survivor, my claws stopping a mere inch from his throat. A- A teenage girl... like me. But that's not the main reason I froze.

I froze because I realize how much of a monster I'd become. Fighting paths through infected, brutally killing hunters that chose to fuck with me and slaughtering all those bandits. I had four year's worth of blood on my hands, and I thought nothing of it. Only now I remembered what it was like to have people I could trust, people I could love. People I could call family.

And that girl's desperate yell, an attempt to save the older man whom I was about to mercilessly kill, made me realize something.

Something that my best friend told me when I was a young boy.

"Every single one of us has a wild, dark side hidden beneath in the depths of our minds. It lies there, waiting for us to lose control, to use us to hurt those closest. But maybe, just maybe, if you can tame the beast within, it can make your wildest dreams come true."


	5. Damn Traps

Seeing the figure freeze, Joel took the opportunity to push him sideways, the both of them falling to the ground from about ten feet in the air, almost hitting the side of the trailer.

This time, Joel was pinning him as he lifted a shiv to finish the job, but paused when the hood was pushed back a little.

A kid.  
A fucking five-foot-seven KID.

Joel growled before lowering his shiv, instead rising up and grabbing the kid by the front of his hoodie, pulling him to his feet and holding him against the trailer.

Ellie was confused, this guy was gonna kill Joel and now he was being let off? What the fuck was going through the old man's head?

"Joel? What's wrong, just shiv him and go! He was gonna-"

"I know Ellie... But I'm above killin' a kid. Especially one around your age."

Ellie was utterly gobsmacked.  
A kid... Her age...?

The 'kid' turned his head to look at her, and she forced herself to suck in a breath. He was handsome, to say the least.

Medium brown hair, pale skin... But the killer feature?

Baby blue eyes with rings of orange around the inner iris and around the cat-like slitted pupil.

Not to mention that the mysterious deep, red, X-shaped scar across his right eye only seemed to enhance his natural beauty.

He held his clawed hands up to show he meant no harm, gritting his unnaturally pointed canine teeth.

"Sorry, I thought you were another bandit or hunter out to recruit or kill me again. At least 'till I saw this purty young lady. I couldn't take the chance. You alright?", he asked, still wary of this Joel guy.

He didn't fully trust him yet.

Ellie blushed at being called pretty with his Floridan Accent, while Joel let go of him and nodded.

"I'm fine, I guess. Name's Joel, this here's Ellie. You gotta name, boy?"

He nodded, rubbing his arm.

"Yeah. Bandits call me Florida. Hunters call me the fox kid. Close and slightly true, but naw. Name's Felix. Also known as Experiment 009.X, at your service."

He said this part with a mock bow, tilting an invisible hat.

Joel frowned a little, picking up a stray bottle.

"Why the experiment title? I c'n understand the Florida 'cause of your accent, but not the fox or the experiment. What're you hidin' Felix?"

Felix grimaced a little, before pulling the sides of his hood back, far enough for them to see he had no ears on the side of his head.

"Fuck! Wh- what happened?!", Ellie spluttered, looking panicked at his missing appendages.

Joel looked a little disturbed, before looking him over.

"You c'n still hear us... an' they left faint stitch marks. This was done professionally. Take the hood off."

"Whatever you say, Tex."

With that, he threw the hood back and relaxed his ears. They had been laid flat, slightly under his hair.

"Holy hell! Joel, are you seein' this?!"

Joel slowly nodded, disbelief in his eyes. Poor kid.

"Lady an' gentleman, presenting the reason I hate the military and don't trust anyone older than 17. No offence, Joel. Do y'all want the long explanation or the short while I walk you to Bill's?"

The two looked at each other, wondering how the hell he knew where they were going, before they shrugged it off and Ellie replied.

"Hit us with the long one."

"With pleasure."

* * *

"-And so I escaped the base and have been on my own ever since. It's actually four years to the day, if my memory serves correct."

Ellie looked intrigued by his life story, while Joel was in deep thought.

_"Why would the military land a kid with such a burden, then put him through gruelling tests until he was practically half-dead? It doesn't make sense..."_

"Well, we're sorry about your group. It's hard being alone, but I can't imagine four years..."

Felix shrugged, forcing the image of his groups separation out of his head.

"Yeah, it gets pretty harsh. I got no-one to cover my back, so I stick to the roofs. Takes 'em longer to get me up there. Problem is, I can never take a break. I have to always be alert. Constant Vigilance."

Joel raised an eyebrow at the phrase.

"You've seen Harry Potter, haven't you?"

Felix grinned a little and nodded.

"Always did like Mad-Eye Moody. Remus Lupin was my favourite, though."

"Mine was Snape. Guy did kick some ass."

Ellie looked at them, confused.

"Who's Harry Potter, Mad-Eye, Snape and Remus Lupin? What are you on about?"

Felix's jaw nearly hit the floor, and Joel's eyes grew wide. He forgot the fact that Ellie didn't know.

"Joel... does Ellie like readin'?"

Ellie's eyes lit up at the thought of a book while Joel took one look at her and nodded.

"Good. I got all seven books in my pack, I could let you borrow 'em."

Ellie smiled, then frowned.

"But... We're headed to Jacksonville! We could never see you again..."

Joel sighed with tiredness and realisation. She was right, of course. They would find Bill, get a car and  
head to Tommy's to find the Fireflies.

"There's a very low chance we would see him again, and I could use an extra pair o' hands..", Joel thought to himself, rubbing his beard a little.

"Say, Felix... How's about y'all come with us? Ellie needs someone her age around, plus we could use some help."

Ellie's eyes lit up even more. Turning to Felix, she stared him in the face and gave him the puppy eyes.

Felix's heart melted, he had always been a sucker for the puppy eyes. Brooke had used them frequently to get him to help her with stuff.

"Alright, alright Ellie! Enough with the puppy eyes, I'll come with y'all!", he almost yelled, slightly flailing his arms at her.

Ellie fist-pumped the air, letting out a "whoot!" of victory as Joel couldn't stop the smile from adorning his usually expressionless face.

"By the way, what's with the fireflies hoodie? I thought you said it was the military who-"

"It was, but one of their failed _specimens_ was a lone firefly transporting clothing and supplies back to base. The stuff I'm wearin' was from his crate of clothes."

" I see..."

Felix clapped his hands together. He decided to keep his hood down, seeing as they knew his secret now.

"So... Bills isn't far from here, a few more back alleys and we'll be there. Now, I'll cover you from the roofs."

Joel and Ellie nodded, knowing he had a strategy to ensure their safety.

"You two make your way along here, and I'll whistle when I see a trap and shine my laser pointer when I see any infected. Once for commons and twice for stalkers, three times for clickers and four for bloaters. I'll take down any bandits or hunters with my chain and hooks or my knives. Clear?"

"You got it, boy. I'll get anything that escapes you."

"Sure thing... Hey, we should have code-names!", Ellie grinned at her idea.

"Ellie-"

"Joel can be "Tex",Felix can be... uh-"

"Fox. I'll be fox."

"Yeah! That'll work."

"-And I'll be..."

"Bookworm...?", Felix offered with an uncertain tone, as Ellie turned pink and started muttering under her breath.

Joel coughed before sharing his announcement.

"Alright, let's head out."

With that, Felix manoeuvred his way up the loose bricks on the wall and hopped onto the roof. Giving them a thumbs up, he started following them as they walked down the streets.

* * *

They made it along several streets without much hassle, only coming across traps and a clicker or two.

Reaching a warehouse-type building, Joel opened the door and was hoisted into the air by a rope the second he put his foot inside.

Felix turned to the gunshots as he saw Joel upside down shooting the commons, and Ellie fiddling with a... fridge?

"Fucking Bill...", he grumbled with irritation.

He rubbed his temples before crouching on the edge of the roof, taking down a common after Ellie by throwing one of his knives into its neck.

With that, he leaped off the roof after uttering two angrily mumbled words.

"Damn traps..."


End file.
